Fall from Glory
by Optimus Magnus
Summary: Many years after the Third Impact, the world forgot her name and slandered her character: Shinji Ikari did not Added Authors notes


_Snow is falling down on this glorious land_

_Colours fading, turning into white again_

_To fallen heroes angels sing, they cry their winter tears_

_Endless mourning days will turn to years_

A lone figure walked across the snow covered ground and stopped after a while.  Silence permeated the air without even the slight crunch of snow from fidgeting feet.  A small sigh escaped the figure's lips and he knelt down on the cold wet ground and stared at the object before him.

"Hello again" he said, remembering when the subject of his greeting stopped hearing him

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_So this is goodbye, I take leave of you and_

_Spread your wings and you will fly away now, fly away_

_Now_

A chain of events orchestrated by evil had ended the man's friend's life: not that it might be called much of a life since her house was always messy and she was always alone, save for him.  He last saw her when the God awful mess that was the apex of the evil deeds of man ended, he saw her for a brief second and then like a flash she was gone.  But instead of crying for her, he smiled.

"Fly away from this place" he whispered

******************

_Nothing on earth stays forever_

_But none of your deeds were in vain_

_Deep in our hearts you will live again_

_You're gone to the home of the brave_

In his time on Earth, Shinji had seen his home city change vastly.  He'd seen the constant reminders of what used to symbolise Tokyo 3 as a Fortress City slowly disappeared and over time the respect and remembrances of what he and his two closest friends did left and eventually even religious loonies claiming that they were in the wrong to kill God's messengers: he'd had two attempts on his life in the past 7 years.  However all the important people knew what she sacrificed and he liked to think that during their time together, an experience no one else knew about; she gave him a part of her.

"You're safe now, take your place with all the other heroes" Shinji chuckled and rubbed the headstone

******************

_Every solemn moment I will treasure inside_

_Even though it's hard to understand_

_That a silent wind can blow the candle out_

_Taking everything leaving the pain far behind_

Shinji had left Tokyo 3 after the war was over: he moved to Hokkaido where he lived as a monk a secluded Zen Buddhist temple and every moment of his solemn time there was sacred to him.  Shinji had always believed one thing during his time fighting: and that was SHE was invincible; no Angel; nor creation of man could destroy her.  But one fact that his master had put to him was that even silent winds could blow out the strongest flame.

"I think I get it now, flame maybe strong but it burns, maybe when they blew your flame out; it ended your pain" Shinji found that solitude helped him to think clearer now

*****************

_You call out my name, but your voice is fading_

_Into the wind, embraced, you'll fly away now, fly away_

_Now_

Shinji placed a single flower on the grave and turned to leave the graveyard: when he heard a voice in the wind.  He stiffened and turned around.  Snow was swarming in the rising wind and for a brief second he saw a figure but as quick as it appeared it disappeared also.  The voice faded more as the snow rose higher, flying into the sky

******************

_Nothing on earth stays forever_

_But none of your deeds were in vain_

_Deep in our hearts you will live again_

_You're gone to the home of the brave_

Shinji sat on his balcony and watched the seasons change; and the attitudes also.  He'd been out shopping one day and saw something that nearly made him break his cane: video games of his and his fellow pilot's exploits.  But it was not quite the same: his character looked like Adonis and her character was for lack of a better word, the whore of the game.  So instead of breaking his cane he went in and smashed the console playing the game.

"No respect for anyone or anything, why is such discredit being given to someone who gave more than she ever had" he muttered as he left the shopping plaza

"Oh, there it goes again.  If I keep this up I'll be joining you soon" Shinji said and looked up

******************

_My eyes are closed I feel you're faraway (so close )_

_Far beyond that shining star_

_I know you'll find what you've been fighting for_

_Far beyond that shining star_

Yet again Shinji stood in front of her grave, a year older, a year wiser and year sicker.  His heart was giving out slowly and his doctor gave him no more than a year left.  Shinji closed his eyes, and using blind faith, sought out the brightest and most pure star in the sky.  He chuckled as he felt his face bathed in light and a sense of peace overwhelm him

*******************

_Down on bended knee I pray, bring courage to these Souls_

_Make'em__ live forever in the heart of the bold_

_So I say farewell my friends, I hope we'll meet again_

_When time has come to fall from grace_

Shinji was now kneeling on the white ground: he could feel his life slowly ebbing away from him and he was asking a higher power, any higher power to grant him courage and to make sure that all the good deeds of the Eva pilots were remembered.  In various cities around the world; a letter was being opened, a letter that was identical aside from the name at the top.  These were farewells to the few remaining originals and friends he had left.  Shinji fell face down in the snow.

**********************

_So this is goodbye, I take leave of you and_

_Spread your wings and you will fly away now, fly away_

_Now_

A ghostly hand helped Shinji up: he couldn't see very well but he knew that texture of skin and that soft voice was unmistakable.  He felt he was being lifted up to the sky by wings of the Seraphim.  He was gone.

***********************

_Nothing on earth stays forever_

_But none of your deeds were in vain_

_Deep in our hearts you will live again_

_You're gone to the home of the brave_

His body was discovered in the early hours of the morning by a groundskeeper.  The coroner declared that Shinji Ikari, war hero, recluse and good but unbalanced man died of natural causes, heart failure to be exact.  He was given a small but dignified burial by what remained of his friends.  The Prime Minister was present to bestow a medal for bravery on his grave.

"May the spirits take the soul of Shinji Ikari, and take it to its rightful place in the home of the warriors, the brave" the Prime Minister said

So they left the grave of Shinji Ikari, which was placed beside the grave of Rei Ayanami, the very grave he had died on.

THE END

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A/N:  The song 'Glory to the Brave' is property of Hammerfall and their constituents


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